WLRN staff continues to add updates on testing and vaccination sites, executive orders and messages from government officials, and the latest news on COVID-19. You can find information on free food and food distributions here.
The dedicated website for the Florida Department of Health, including information about the numbers of cases, can be found here.
The dedicated website from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found here.
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QUICK UPDATES
Florida Adds More Than 10,000 New Cases, More Than 130 New Resident Deaths
Updated Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 10,533 positive cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. Florida has a total of 1,737,640 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Tuesday's update also included the announcement of 137 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 26,822. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 27,269.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 9,225 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 40 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Florida Braced For Tight Healthcare Budget, But Medicaid’s Prolonged COVID Boost Helps
Updated Tuesday at 12:31 p.m.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit Florida last March, healthcare spending already made up about a third of the state budget.
Now, with thousands out of work and thousands more dealing with the prolonged health consequences of COVID-19, Florida has seen its expensive Medicaid program get even pricier.
But thanks to an additional boost by the federal government, those in charge of the healthcare budget say they can breathe a small sigh of relief.
Read more at our news partner The Miami Herald.
— Samantha J. Gross and Kirby Wilson / The Miami Herald
Under 65 With Health Problems? It Might Be Your Turn For A Vaccine
Updated Tuesday at 12:28 p.m.
A cruel gap in the coronavirus vaccination program closed slightly on Monday when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Jupiter Medical Center — along with 26 other Florida hospitals — will get 28,500 shots for people under age 65 who have serious health problems.
While younger people with chronic ailments were supposed to be in the first wave, they were in a Catch-22. Unlike those 65 and up, they could be vaccinated only at hospitals. Most medical centers received only enough doses to inoculate their front-line healthcare workers.
Still, with each hospital promised only about 1,000 shots, problems are still far from over for vulnerable younger people who desperately want to be vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19.
Read more at our news partner the Palm Beach Post.
— Jane Musgrave / The Palm Beach Post
Congresswoman Appeals To VA After Vets Seeking COVID-19 Vaccine Turned Away
Updated Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is urging the federal government to expand its efforts to vaccinate military veterans against the coronavirus — including many who have been denied the shot because they make too much money or do not have a service-related disability.
Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, has appealed to Dat Tran, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to waive certain requirements veterans meet meet before they can receive the COVID-19 vaccine from the VA.
“We are writing to urge you to use your authority as Acting Secretary to ensure that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is administering the COVID-19 vaccine to as many veterans as possible, including veterans who may not be currently enrolled in the VA health care system,” she wrote in a letter Monday.
Read more at our news partner the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— Susannah Bryan / Sun Sentinel
